Well, I'm back. Back in Busan and back for more adventures in Hermit Country.  I actually got back into Korea September 4th with 2 other travellers.  Yep, Muffy & Wendi Belanger made it across the Pacific with me. Muff was in Busan to promote Laurentian University and recruit international students (her job) and my mum was here to ... well... spend time with her kids, experience some of Asia, be grossed out on some food and spend all of her husband's money.  They were here for a week and we toured all around Busan and even made it up to Seoul fore some sightseeing. It was fantastic. Being able to show them all the places that I thought I could only describe was amazing.  Check out Muff & Mum for pix. They left last week, just before Typhoon Maemi hit. Now I'm here trying to find a good contract, apartment and motorbike. Actually, looks like all the above are in place. I'll be starting to work Oct. 1st, shopping for an apt. this weekend and I pick up my bike in 3 hours. Be sure to check out the pix of me and my hog. For more current news, check out LOOP2 on the ROUND2 site.

 

Wow.  My last month just flew by. I am in Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan. I remembered that it has been a long time since I updated all of you (legions of BobbyG fans) on my latest adventures.  Well, I flew to Tokyo the first weekend of June, as it was another Korean long-weekend.  Along with Weaz, John and Paul,  we headed to Mt. Fuji. The plan was to climb it early in the morning, but at last minute we decided to make the ascent that night.  With a few beer, whiskey and McDonalds in our systems we headed up.  Please check http://touchingplaces.tripod.com for more info on the legendary climb. To sum it up though.  It was the toughest thing we had all done in our lives.  We made it to the summit for sunrise, and you can imagine the views. Came back down that morning and headed back to Tokyo for a night on the town.  Sunday was spent shopping, but a last minute McDonalds run at the airport caused us to miss our flight back to Busan. Paul and I were unfased and decided to party in Seoul for the night (we caught the next available flight to Korea).  The rest of my weeks had been spent getting ready to come back to Canada, find a replacement teacher, pack and say goodbye.  A few good parties later, here I am.  I am in Japan very much looking forward to being back in Canada (24hours later), but thinking where I might go next. Should I come back to Korea for one more year? Who knows. But I have a few months to think about it. What a great trip it has been though. Korea, motorbikes, road trips, taekwondo, Thailand, scuba diving, Japan, Mt. Fuji.... The list goes on. To all those I met during my one year span, "Good luck, and I hope to see you again soon".

-b

 

Just recovered from another weekend, Road Trip#5. Weaz and flew up to Seoul Saturday morning to see our friend Tyson off. He's gone to explore Malaysia and Australia before heading back to Canada. We drove our motorbikes to the front door of the airport (having it no other way) and jumped on the first available flight (cost of $60). We were standing in Itaewon by 11am. One noticible difference between Seoul and Busan is the amount of foreigners. Not only because there is an American army base at the end of the busy Itaewon street, but every where you go, there are foreigners.  I guess most capital cities are the same that way. Seoul is a great place to visit Korea, if you don't want to feel far home. Everyone speaks English and there are plenty of American restaurants and shops at your fingertips.

Tyson met up with us and he brought us to various markets around the city. That night after some dakalbi bokombap, we met up with a buddy of mine from Toronto, Dave Hwang. He has been living in Korea for last 3 years, and has been bugging me to visit him since I got here. Headed to a bar called Gecco's in Itaewon for some drinks and met up with Krissy Demarco. This Sudbury girl moved to Seoul in Sudbury. After closing the bar, the next logical step was to close another. We headed to the Seoul Pub where antics followed. I think you'll find some great pix on Road Trip #5, but better stories can be heard from friends.  I think it was 4am and I was dancing on the bar in my boxers. Ouch.

Next day, Tyson showed us Deoksugung Palace.  Before entering, we got to see a female bum, have a wiz on the sidewalk infront of the palace gates. Nice. 

Inside, there was a huge drumming festival going on, which went great with our headaches. After sharing Tyson's last meal in Korea, Weaz and I said our farewells and jumped on the subway. All was fine until we noticed we had been heading in the wrong direction, away from the airport. We then discovered that there was a better than good chance that we'd miss the last flight to Busan. With fingers crossed and shoes tied tight, we broke out at our stop in a mad run.  A kilometer of hallway, 5 flights of stairs and an ignored baggage check, we made it to our gate. The plane was ready for take off, but had waited for us. Back in Busan an hour later, we jumped on our bikes and headed home. 

Will Japan be ready for us? Only 3 weeks away.

-b

It's raining like crazy here. However, it has been rather warm and sunny as of late. Just got back from Road Trip #4. During the afternoon of May 3rd, the newly acquired Paul Casey, Weaz and I, took off on our hogs down the south coast. We zig-zagged our way through islands and along coast-lines until finally reaching our destination.  We rolled into a small fishing village of Jaakom, in Dolsan on Sunday around 4pm after spending the first night in Sacheon-po. There, we met up with the Taekwondo crew and began our terror. After a night of partying, we hit the roads at 8am, prepared for 9 straight hours of driving. Check the link for pix. Maybe Seoul this weekend. Japan is coming quick and so is my return to Canada.

-b

 

Nothing much has happened since I last wrote. The weather has changed, but now is really wet. Nolan and Paul are preparing to head out to Europe, but because of the SARS scare, they are rescheduling their plan to visit China.

I've been pretty busy myself trying to figure out when to come home and what to do next. Should I come back to Korea for another year? I've been debating doing at least another 6, or going to another country to teach. I will however be back in Canada for July and August.  Hard to turn down the cash and lifestyle. How did I ever pay off a $10,000 loan in 10 months? Especially the way I spend. I've been thinking about my last 10 months and they seem to have flown by at light-speed. It honestly feels like I've only been away for 3 or 4 months. Anyway, I'll be back and mostly likely will return in the fall.

Last month I saw a soccer match between Team Korea and Team Columbia. It was nuts. Rather, the fans were nuts.

Like I said, nothing much new or interesting to tell. Bigger classes, new taekwondo belts, a bum knee and a bogus party. I did however, get attacked by a huge dog, last Friday. He did a good number on my right arm and back. Getting a needle in the ass by a nurse was certainly a highlight of my weekend.

-b

 

I've been kinda slow on updating this site. Tripod has been quite difficult. Anyway, I'll try to update you. Chinese New Year was January 30th through to February 2nd. Road Trip 3 - We decided to do a day of snowboarding at mountain called Mujoo. It was pretty big, roughly the size of Tremblant. It was well equipped too, with gondolas, restaurants, hotels, shops etc. As you can imagine, it looked like a war scene, with bodies everywhere on the mountain. The next day, we took off on a motorbike road trip. And once again the destination was the island of Kojedo. We wanted to show it to our friends so we took off in a huge group, like a biker gang. The rest of the month has been quite quiet. Spent most of my days in a steady routine of school and taekwondo. Been debating staying in Korea a little while longer and doing a distance education course. Hope March brings more excitement.

-b

 

Hmmm... Seems that my last entry wasn't saved properly. Well then I'll have to recap the events that have occured in the last month. I'll begin with the Christmas party that we threw on December 20th. My taekwondo master gave us full control of his mother's coffee shop, so we had ourselves a merry little christmas party. At 3am, after the kareoke singing, dancing, boozing and other antics, we decided it was time to do the gift exchange. As you can imagine we were all in great condition at this point. That Sunday morning (Dec. 22nd), I flew to Bangkok, Thailand. From there I took another plane to the southern island of Koh Samui. Spent the night there then took a boat to Koh Phagnan the next day. After some great days on the beach, a scare by a 10-foot python dancing on our beach, fire-juggling and a "warm Christmas", Boxing Day we headed to Koh Tao.  Here, we spent 4 days learning and becoming certified as an open-water diver. I brought an underwater digital camera down on a free dive and got some great pix. Look for them to hit the site soon. Headed back to Koh Phagnan for New Years. As you can also imagine, this was beyond "great".  After another day of relaxing, we headed to Bangkok on January 2nd. Spent a night on the famous Koa Sarn Road and did some great sightseeing that included a stop at Jim Thompson's House. Got back to the rather cold Korea on January 5th. Temperature has been fluxuating between -7 and +7 degrees Celcius.  Still riding my bike if you're wondering. Last weekend we were extras in a Korean movie and even got our own scene in the movie. The movie was about The Master's golf tournament being held in Korea. Nolan got to wear a green jacket, while Paul and I were "losers" sporting tuxedos. We were used in all the background shots of the reception scene, but Nolan and I got an extra scene as well. I'm chatting with the beautiful Ha Ji Won, then Nolan comes up and greets her. He convinces the director that it's a good idea to have him kiss her twice as they greet. He didn't mind practicing this scene over and over. After 13hrs of filming and making a mockery of the set/film, "Barney McRea", "Hans Johaab" and "Dapper Teal" left. My students cannot believe that I am in this movie, nor can they believe that I got to meet their favorite stars.  Yes, I signed autographs.

b

Thursday was presidential election day in Korea. Most places are closed, forcing/allowing people to vote (an idea that Canada should pick up). Constant updates on the race were bull-horned around the city all day & night. At 6pm one candidate had 48% and his best competitor had 42%. In a very close race Roh Moo Hyun won.  

To relieve some bordom, I brought my "older kidz" to see the new Harry Potter movie. After the movie, we hit a noribong (singing room). They were quite impressed with my reditions "The Letter" from the Box Tops and "To Sir With Love" from Lulu. Later, I met up with Nolan and Emily and caught The Two Towers (opening night in Korea). So, to recap: I did both holiday blockbusters and delivered some loud cheer in one long night.

Last night, I threw a Christmas party. Master Chu, got us a coffee shop in Seomyeon, for us to use.  It was BYOB, BYODS (dried squid) and BYOT (tunes). We rocked it with some gangsta rap and even got a microphone working for some fantastic kareoke. At 4am we decided we were in the perfect mood for our Christmas game.  After plenty of gifts were opened, some dancing, meekjoo, sojoo and an appearance of Tom Collins,  we turned off the mic, cleaned up and called it a night.  

With a slight headache, I'm counting down the last hours I'll spend in Korea this year. My flight to Thailand leaves tomorrow morning at 7am. I'll fly to Bangkok (save your jokes) then jump on another plane, going south to Koh Samui. There, I'll hop on a boat that will bring me to Koh Phagnan.  If it's anything like the movie "The Beach" (where it was filmed), I'll be in paradise before you read this. I'll spend 13 days on the beach and in the sun, enjoying every minute.  Savor your snowbanks and frostbites, life is worth loving.

-b

 

Friday the 13th.  I leave for Thailand in 9 days.  My return ticket was $666.  Looks like some good luck. It's gotten colder. Nothing else new. Threw a few dozen pix up on the site. Check it out. Merry Christmas!

-b

 

I can't believe it's already December. I'm on my 6th month. Weather changed again, and now it's pretty warm. Feels kinda like September. Friday we had an American Thanksgiving  dinner/party  for the kids.  Went quite well, with fried chicken being substituted for the turkey. I'm trying to get this site back on track. Hopefully, there'll be some new pix up.

-b

 

It has definately been a long time since I last updated this site. I have some new photos to add, but not much news.  Weaz's cousin, Sarah was visiting, so we've been taking her to many different touristy places. Couple of Monday's ago, we went to the aquarium in Haeundae. It was pretty cool seeing huge sharks during feeding time and stingrays. We feed some large fish that almost took Sarah's fingers off and some piranhas.  It was kinda mean, 'cause we were feeding them live goldfish. I kinda felt sorry as they were torn to shreds.  Last Sunday we went to Tongdosa Temple near Yangsan. We arrived late, but just in time to see 15 minute drumming ceremony, followed by a 15 minute bell ringing. It was great. Just about finished my Christmas shopping. I hope everthing gets home in time. It's been getting pretty cold, and I almost freeze everytime I get on my bike.  News of my parents and sister coming to visit, keeps me warm.

-b

 

New updates to the site. Finally got some pix of the Mystery Guest and our trip to Beomosa Temple. Excuse the facial hair, we were in the middle of "Moustache Month".

-b

 

I'm sorry if I've been outta touch. Things have been rather busy. My phone has been outta power for the last week, since buying a new one. I hope to have this problem fixed by the end of this weekend.
Yesterday was Hallowe'en and I got to celebrate with some kids at my Taekwondo school as well as the private school. We had a celebration for our kids at Swaton on the 30th. They didn't know what to do or how to say "Trick or Treat!". We got them to dress up, had a costume contest, carved pumpkins, watched A Nightmare Before Christmas (with Korean subtitles) and got them to Trick or Treat around the school in the different classrooms. I dressed up as Triple X and scared all the kids with gigantic tattoos and a gun. It was good fun, but nothing like the "Heroes & Villains "party at Le Palais in Hull. Besides that, the weather has been cooling and the leaves are finally changing. Everyday is gorgeous though. Tons of clear, blue sky, but a little colder. It gets chilly riding my hog at night. I've made some mitts out of a pair of socks.
-b

 

Yep, it's my birthday. Yesterday was Weaz's. Isn't that ridiculous? We went out on Saturday night and left appropriately at 5am. Today, I was surprised with a cake in the middle of my class. Asian Games are over. Korea got the gold in baseball, but not in soccer. Leaves are starting to change colour, but it's still fairly warm. In other news, I got an oil change on my motorbike. Everything's fine with it, in case you're wondering.
-b

 

10.11.2002
Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Well deserved.

10.05.2002
Been checkin' out some Asian Games. On Thursday, we watched the Korean baseball team destroy Taiwan(Taipei), much to the crowd's enjoyment. Earlier we caught some women's beach volleyball. I think there was some men's going on too. Just didn't seem to interesting.

-b 

10.01.2002
Just got back from my first day of Taekwondo. My body is sore, but my kicks are lethal. Thursday is a holiday (yep, another one), and the plan is to watch the beach volleyball comp. at Haeundae Beach and then a few baseball games at the stadium. For more information on the Asian Games in Busan click on this link

-b

 

9.29.2002

Saturday night, Weaz and I drove outta Busan and met up with Nolan and Paul (our buds from Montreal) in Yangsan. The four of us headed to the main stadium to watch a soccer game. The game was apart of the Asian Games that are being hosted by Busan, and was between Qatar and Lebannon. Where is Qatar? Sunday was gorgeous and we cruised around Gwangalli and Haeundae. We crossed the gigantic and newly built/opened Gwangan Bridge. It was amazing!...and a little scary. Later we hung out at Haeundae Beach where an art exhibit was being held on the beach. Huge, metal pieces were scattered along the beach. Many were great, but one was of very bad taste. It was a 40ft piece of the Twin Towers, complete with airplanes hitting and video footage of the disaster, Bin Laden, George Bush etc. I've been having a terrible time trying to get pix up on my site, so be patient

-b

So, it's been nearly a month since I last wrote. Like I said... "I'll try". Anyway, I have lots to inform you about. I had Andrew Ashcroft come visit me for a week. We did a lot of touristy things around Busan. Weather has been good. The odd time we'll get some rain, but know that I'm safe and all good. Last week we had Friday off. It was Chusok, the Korean Thanksgiving. So we went out on Thursday night, to a Korean night club, called The MGM. It was the weirdest night ever. As I'm walking into the all-lights, Vegas-style club, this Korean man in an all-yellow suit stops me and asks me if I was a movie star. Ya, pretty gay. But the guy ends up being the club's manager and makes a call inside. Doors are opened for us and we are waited on 'hand and foot'.  The inside looks like the club in Scarface. Tons of pillars and a huge stage. The stage was being rocked by a 6-member, Korean boy-band.  They were dressed the same and they moves perfectly synchronized. How funny is it, when they're dancin' around doing American covers. Anyway, the next day we headed out on "Road Trip 2". The plan was to go to Geojedo Island and it would take us roughly 3 hours. We headed out in the sunshine and decided to stay along the south coast, heading west. Amazingly we found a ferry that would bring us and our hogs to Geojedo for peanuts. We got to relax and watch the sunset among tons of islands and a calm sea. "Ever romantic", but seriously it was great. So we arrived on Geojedo (Kojedo) at around 7pm and headed down the East coast of the island. It was also amazing. Stayed on the East coast that night and went out to a bar called Deuce Bigalo's. The next day was again, hot and gorgeous. Cruised down the coast, filming and takin' some quick pix. We did some off-roadin' around the southern tip of the island and got some stellar pix. Then we drove up the west-coast. We planned to stay at a Disneyland-type area in the north part of the island. We drove all the way around and ended back to the ferry terminal, confused. After some talking and pointing to pictures on our map, we were told that this place is only "planned". So we drove back to the westcoast and stayed in the port-city of Geoje. A surprise rain hit on Sunday. I was drenched when I arrived home. The ball-hockey tourney was cancelled and I came down with a head cold (sniff). The Asian Games start this weekend, and Busan is hosting. Make sure you're watcing the highlights. Next Thursday in another holiday, hopefully I'll catch tons of events.

 

9.2.2002
The typhoon came and hit hard. Shook my apartment windows open. However, instead of rockin' Korea's second largest city for a week, it cleared up on Sunday. It was so nice in fact, that Weaz and I headed out on our bikes and played some ball hockey with other foreigners. Today was the first day of school (Sept. to June) and my first class wasn't until 3pm. My schedule seems to be pretty good. I don't ever have a class before 11am and as it stands, I'm only teaching 18hrs/week. However, I know that more classes will eventually be added. Might as well enjoy it as it lasts

-b

 

Today was the last day of summer school for all the students. Monday they will begin the regular school year. To celebrate, we had a little party at Pizza Hut with the kids. I was informed that my teaching schedule will drastically change. No longer do I begin at 9:30am. Instead, I've been burdened by starting at 11am. To top it off, I've been used. That's right, Bobby G is being used as 'eye-candy'. The 11am class (3 times/week) is a class for women between the ages of 30 and 40. They believe that it would be better to have an "authority figure" in front of the class and they want me to ass-ign ass-ignments. Should be inter-ass-ting. A typhoon has hit Japan and is on its way to Korea. I guess I can expect a week-straight of rain. Tomorrow (Saturday) we're having our monthly movie-party for the younger kids. We serve N.American food and watch English movies. The choice for this Saturday is grilled ham & cheese sandwiches, chips and Pepsi. No, my suggestions didn't have any weight.
-b

 

8.28.2002
Found out two important things about Korea today. 1) Double Check everything.I finally got around to setting up a bank account, and deposited some cash. I thought I'd see if I could work my bank card before I left the bank. Without any problems I was able to have a peek at my balance - - ZERO??!! I figured that maybe it took a couple of minutes to complete my deposit and soon 560,000 won would show up, but maybe checking with a teller would be a good idea. The teller who had been helping me set up an account, thought that I was a tool and didn't know how to work my bank card. So he comes around and drags me by the arm. I try to assure him that I know what I'm doing. He shows me the same process, and my balance of 0. Grinning, I remind him about a large pile of bills to the amount of 560, 000 won. With an astonished look on his face. He put his arm on my shoulder and kept repeating "I sorry, I sorry." Hmmm... ya.

Second, always have your milk finished BEFORE the expiry date. Very handy when you drinkin' straight outta the bottle.
-b
 
8.26.2002
I've just been handed another envelope full of money! Yep, they're paying my lunches. Every month they give me some extra won. Nice little bonus. My weekend was great, and relaxing. Had planned to do another road trip, but decided to recoup the body and funds - didn't happen. Went to any all foreigner party on Saturday at the Yachting Club in Haeundae. Sunday, we went to the Jagalchi Market in Nampo-Dong and feasted on some raw, sea creatures. Then we strolled to Yeongdusan Park and up Busan Tower. Got some more breath-taking views as it was clear and sunny. Later, Weaz and I headed to PNU (Pusan National University) in Dongnae, to eat some dakalbi and then search for some skate shops. Things have been great as I've been enjoying the thrill of ridin' my bike.

-b

 

8.19.2002
Besides it being Pay Day for me, today is a great day. Friday night I purchased a motorbike, having never ridden one before. Within minutes Weaz and I were on the road, heading up the eastern coast. The "road trip" plan was make it to Seoul, but decided that we were under no pressure, and so we decided to stay in Gyeongju for a night. We woke to a sunny sky making our journey along the coast unbelievably breath-taking. Before leaving Gyeongju, we visited Dumuli Park. We got to see a collection of mound-like, royal Silla tombs from the Pre-Unification Era. One housed King Seongdeok who reigned during the Silla Dynasty. We got back on track after a quick oil change, and made our way up the Eastern Sea to Pohang and Yeongdoek. We stopped at a little island, and we're instantly attacked by barters trying to pursuade us to buy crab. This area, just outside Yeongdoek, is famous for its King Crab. We decided to rest and eat on this island, at a fantastic restaurant with a two-story, bay-window/waterfall and choosing to devour a King Crab as our dinner. This was a little bit of a splurge, as it was 50,000WON per kilo. However, the restaurant was amazing, we were on a great road trip, we couldn't go home regretful and the damn crab was calling us on. We fixed him in a hurry. After supper we headed back out, resting in Yeongdoek for the night. Sunday was even more gorgeous, and headed back home down the coast. We stopped at a Wolpo Beach (one of the many that we passed), took a rest, played in the sea and then headed back home. Along the coast, as it got dark, fireworks were being blasted off the beaches, making this road trip surreal. Gotta go, boss just handed me an envelope full of cash. I feel like a 'high-roller'....rollin' on two wheels that is.
-b

8.13.2002
I had been complaining about the heat & humidy for an entire month. However, last Monday, right after I short-circuted the entire 2nd floor of my hogwan, it began to rain. We were hit by a huge typhoon. It hasn't stopped rainning! Eight straight days! Also,I've been trying to find my old phone number from the Valley. Every number in this area of Busan begins with 897. I hope to find it above a bar or massage parlour. I've been motorcycle shopping. Oh ya, ready to make the 125cc purchase. That's power Baby! Thursday we have off, as it's Liberation Day in Korea. Hope it clears up by then.... so we can drink outdoors ; )
-b
 
8.12.2002
"Foreignicating Busan" is finally up and runnin'. I hope everyone has a giggle everytime they read the title. God knows I do. So, I'm settled in, teaching and exploring. I'm met many foreigners, and locals. My school, Swaton Institute is great and they treat me great too. With the help of my buddy Weaz, we've manage to cause havoc in and around the city. When I'm not in a class, I spend most of my time in the markets of Nampo-Dong, PNU (Dongnae) and Somyeon or relaxing on the beaches in Haeundae or Gwangalli. I've been to Yongdusan Park in Nampo-Dong. From the observation deck you can see almost all of Busan. The port is great.  You can see hundreads of ships coming and going. Korean food is pretty good, but spicy. You have to be ready to try new things. Sojoo  is nasty and f*cks you up! Kinda like vodka with rubbing alcohol. Dong-dongjoo  is good though. It's a rice wine mixed with 7UP. Bondaegee  is not good. Anytime you toss larvae in your mouth you got to expect some kind of gag-reflex. It's fun when when their guts explode and get caught in your teeth.
-b